Bright Spots
Celebrating the power of family engagement in action. Bright Spots highlight the incredible work happening in schools and communities across Colorado, where educators, families, and partners are coming together to create meaningful change for students.
Strengthening Family Engagement in Montrose, Colorado
Educators Who Have Completed RMFEC Professional Learning:
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RMFEC has been actively working in Montrose, Colorado, supporting families, schools, and district leaders through intentional family engagement initiatives. As part of Cohort One, Montrose is a key site where RMFEC and our partner organization, Coaction Collective (CoCo), provide training, coaching, and ongoing support for schools to build meaningful family-school partnerships.
Since August, CoCo has been working directly with Montrose educators, visiting approximately three times a year to facilitate in-person training sessions. These efforts are already making a difference:
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25 participants from 8 schools—including school principals and Family Engagement Leadership Teams—are actively engaged in the initiative.
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The superintendent has been directly involved, listening as each school presented a "State of the Union" on their family engagement progress.
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Schools are implementing family literacy training and parent role training developed by RMFEC expert Ron Mirr.
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Educators are seeing the power of personal connections—strengthening relationships with families and improving student outcomes.
Montrose Family Engagement
Session Objectives
At a recent training session, school leaders and family engagement teams focused on:
Family
Support
Understanding how Montrose families are being supported through the Civic Learning Lab.
Shared Strategies
Collaborating with other schools to share strategies and lessons learned from the year.
Goal
Reflection
Reflecting on progress toward family engagement goals and planning next steps.
Teacher
PD Prep
Preparing for the next teacher professional development session on Challenging Conversations.
Real Stories,
Real Impact
Relationships That Transform Learning
Educators in Montrose are witnessing firsthand how family engagement transforms relationships and enhances student success. Below are a few of their reflections.
I thought I knew this student fairly well—he's a really neat young man. But when we called his mom to have an engaging conversation, she shared that she is undergoing treatment for cancer and that her son is really struggling. We felt so thankful she shared this with us so that we can better support and understand him. Had we not called, we may have never known.
High School Counselor
We had a long-term sub start in late October. Because of the groundwork laid with the classroom teacher, the sub has been able to maintain strong family connections. We recently conducted a family survey, and our long-term sub had the most completed surveys in the entire school!
Elementary School Principal
At the start of the year, each staff member was asked to pick three families to call and develop positive relationships. I connected with a single mother whose daughters had struggled with attendance. Over time, she began reaching out to me—asking for support and checking in about her girls' progress. Although we still have work to do, we’ve built a trusting relationship, and she’s becoming more engaged in their education.
School Behavior Resource Teacher
A 5th grader had struggled with attendance for years. His mother often ghosted us, and follow-through on support was inconsistent. But through consistent outreach, positive reinforcement, and celebrating small wins, this student has been in school every single day since January 8th. He’s exceeding his daily goals, and our relationship with his family has transformed. There’s still work to be done, but we’re moving in a positive direction.